Associate Director for Student Media

Job Title

Associate Director for Student Media

Agency

Texas A&M University

Department

Student Life

Proposed Minimum Salary

Commensurate

Job Location

College Station, Texas

Job Type

Staff

Job Description

Our Commitment

Texas A&M University is committed to enriching the learning and working environment for all visitors, students, faculty, and staff by promoting a culture that embraces inclusion, diversity, equity, and accountability.  Diverse perspectives, talents, and identities are vital to accomplishing our mission and living our core values .

 

 Who we are

The Department of Student Life strives to enhance your opportunities as a student to participate fully in the University experience.  We do this by providing you with information, services, programs and involvement opportunities that facilitate responsible life choices and promote awareness of yourself and of your community.  Each of the program areas within Student Life has a specific mission, but one common goal:  to provide education, outreach, and support to you. Learn more about our various program areas at https://studentlife.tamu.edu/ .

 

What we want

The Associate Director of Student Media must be knowledgeable enough to keep the unit innovative, financially stable, and educationally committed. The Associate Director is responsible for providing leadership for the Student Media Office, advancing the mission of Student Life and Student Affairs, and collaborating on the academic initiatives within the Department of Communications & Journalism. The Associate Director is primarily responsible for managing the financial aspects of the individual components/organizations that make-up Student Media, cultivating and maintaining advertising opportunities for all platforms of Student Media, and handling day-to-day business operations including circulation, distribution, technology needs, etc.

 

This position will provide planning, leadership, training, and management for the revenue generation activities of Student Media and all the individual student media entities under the umbrella in the areas of advertising sales, customer service, and sales development. The position will work to establish a number of student-led initiatives that will assist in the long-term growth of Student Media with a co-curricular lens to include a student sales team, a distribution team (street team), and a data-analytics team. The selected candidate will subscribe to and support our commitment to Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accountability. If the description sounds interesting to you, we invite you to apply to be considered for this opportunity.

What you need to know

Salary:  Compensation will be commensurate to selected hire’s education and experience.

Special Note: A cover letter and resume are strongly recommended. You may upload them on the application under the CV/Resume section.

Work Schedule: Evening work and/or travel may be required.

 

Required Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in applicable field or equivalent combination of education and experience.

• Eight years of progressively responsible management experience, including some supervision of full-time staff. ​

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Working knowledge of computers, and pre-press and printing processes; working knowledge of online and multimedia platforms; able to relate effectively and readily to students.

• Ability to multi-task and work cooperatively with others.

Preferred Experience:

• Experience in interpreting educational assessments.

Preferred Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Experience in journalism/mass media business and advertising.

Responsibilities

• Advertising, sales, distribution and business processes – Coordinates the sale of advertising and yearbooks, including billing, collection, distribution, and inventory control. Makes contact with current advertisers and potential advertisers for The Battalion and thebatt.com; works with third-party contractor for advertising sales in the Aggieland; works with portrait company to monitor sales, gather student data to market portraits and the yearbook; and ensures that invoices are produced, and bills are paid in a timely manner. Establishes advertising rates and sales prices for Student Media products annually, or as necessary, with input from students and peers around the country. Prepares and maintains the annual budget.

• Strategic Unit Direction – Work collaboratively with on and off campus partners to grow the role of Student Media across a number of media platforms. Unit growth with align with the strategic vision of a broad learning laboratory for journalism education across campus. Long goals include creating a robust Student Media that provides all students with varied journalism exposure through a multiplatform experience. Serve on working groups, task forces, and other institutional groups that align the mission of Student Media to the academic experience in a practical skill-based approach.

• Student Media business operations - Oversees daily production of The Battalion online at www.thebatt.com , weekly print edition of The Battalion, at least five times a year for Maroon Life magazine, and the yearly production of the Aggieland yearbook; work with the student staff in news, advertising, production, and distribution to assure timely and efficient use of personnel and materials.

• Budget Management – Oversee a multi-faceted budget that serves primarily an online newspaper presence but includes print and yearbook commitments and pulls in revenue from multiple funding sources. Oversee student leaders with decisions regarding allocations and expenses. Oversee the coordination and collaboration of the monthly reconciliation process between student leaders and department staff. Oversee the annual budgeting process. Manage products and events in TAMU Marketplace on behalf of student leadership. Initiate, monitor, maintain, and evaluate all contractual obligations associated with The Battalion, Maroon Life, and the Aggieland.

• Student Organization Advising – Serves as an advisor and financial advisor to two student organizations: The Battalion and the Aggieland. Attend and maintain required student organization advisor training. Work with journalism advisors in the oversight and support of student editors and other organizational leadership positions as requested. Provide direct advisement and support to the student business manager(s), student advertising agents, and a student street team.

• University/Division/Department Duties – Serve on university and other committees and task forces as well as in a volunteer capacity in support of the Division and Department. Work collaboratively with the Department of Communications and Journalism in support of the learning laboratory, internships, or other initiatives linking the academic experience to the student organization operation/activities. Performs other duties as assigned.

Instructions to Applicants: Applications received by Texas A&M University must either have all job application data entered or a resume attached. Failure to provide all job application data or a complete resume could result in an invalid submission and a rejected application. We encourage all applicants to upload a resume or use a LinkedIn profile to pre-populate the online application.

All positions are security-sensitive. Applicants are subject to a criminal history investigation, and employment is contingent upon the institution’s verification of credentials and/or other information required by the institution’s procedures, including the completion of the criminal history check.

Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action/Veterans/Disability Employer committed to diversity.